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Issue Archive

This week's Question: Autonomous vehicles have been touted as a way to combat roadway accidents and reduce energy expenditure and greenhouse gas emissions. A new study from University of Leeds, University of Washington, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, however, claims that the actual impact may be both positive and negative due to how technology will change humanity’s relationship with vehicles. The study estimated, for example, a 50% to 60% increase in car energy consumption due to travelers choosing to use driverless cars in situations where they would have previously taken alternative transport, such as trains or planes. Additionally, the study predicts that people who currently find it difficult to drive, such as the elderly or those with disabilities, will have increased access to road transport with the advent of the new systems, resulting in an estimated 2% to 10% increase in road energy use for personal travel.

This week's Question: After more than three years of construction, Virgin Galactic unveiled its new spaceship at the Mojave Air & Space Port in California. Physicist Stephen Hawking named the new vehicle Virgin Spaceship (VSS) Unity. Although the spacecraft faces an extensive testing period, the company plans to ferry passengers up to 50 miles above the Earth's surface. What do you think? Do you want to be a "space tourist"?

This week's Question: The market for smartwatches and fitness bands is growing, but how effective are today's wearable health devices? A study from Lancaster University, the University of the West of England, and Nottingham Trent says that the technologies are marketed under the premise that they will help improve general health and fitness, yet the majority of manufacturers provide no empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of their products. Evidence for the value of the wearables is anecdotal, according to the researchers, and there is little scientific evidence as to how they improve health.

This week's Question: A Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) team took top honors this month at a competition to design the Hyperloop, a high-speed transportation concept from Tesla Motors and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. In the absence of air or surface friction, the Hyperloop design enables passenger pods to travel through airless tubes at more than 600 mph. Using low-energy propulsion systems, the Hyperloop theoretically utilizes air pressure to “hover” above a track. MIT's team will now have the opportunity to build and test its design in the US. The researchers will perform simulations, try out braking systems, and, with great caution, test dangerously strong magnets.

This week's Question: Canadian industrial designer Charles Bombardier has developed an aircraft concept that, in theory, could send passengers from London to New York in 11 minutes. The "Antipode" would have a scramjet engine and wings fitted with rocket boosters, propelling the aircraft to 40,000 feet and enabling the aircraft to reach Mach 5. To bring the concept to reality, engineers are challenged with addressing sonic booms as well as the materials' resistance to high heat. A proposed aerodynamic technique called long penetration mode (LPM), however, would use a nozzle on the aircraft's nose to blow out air and cool down the surface temperature, while also muffling the noise made from breaking the sound barrier. The design is decades away, according to the researchers. What do you think? Will "Antipodes" take off?

This week's Question: The U.S. military’s Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) unveiled plans last week to develop a "brain modem." The implantable neural interface allows wearers to transmit data from their brains to external digital devices. DARPA's goal is to achieve this communications link in a biocompatible device no larger than one cubic centimeter in size. Applications of the neural interface technology include boosting a soldier’s hearing or vision by providing additional digital auditory or visual information into the brain. What do you think? Will a brain modem become a reality?

This week's Question: Researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center are developing a hybrid plane that will, like a hybrid car, rely on both fossil fuels and electricity to power itself through the sky. The NASA engineers are looking at power systems that generate electricity in place of, or in addition to, thrust at the turbine engine, and then convert that electricity into thrust using fans at other places on the aircraft. The Glenn team says the advances could make flying up to 30 percent more fuel efficient.

This week's Question: Former astronaut and current Dartmouth University physician Jay Buckey and his team have sent Oculus Rift headsets to Canadian Force Station Alert, a military station in Canada located 500 miles from the North Pole. The researchers will ultimately test whether exposure to nature through virtual reality can help to improve mood and stress levels. Buckey hypothesizes that the VR tools may someday benefit astronauts on deep-space missions. What do you think? Will virtual reality help astronauts?

This week's Question: Hundreds of thousands of the unmanned aircraft are expected to be sold between Black Friday and the end of the year, providing both a boon for the emerging industry and a potential headache for aviation safety officials. Parrot's Bebop Drones, for example, were featured prominently in Target's Black Friday ads, and the drone maker generated $42 million in its third quarter this year, a 60% increase from the same period a year ago. Some aviation experts are concerned, however, that the new drone owners will take the skies without knowledge of airspace rules or best practices for staying safe. The FAA is currently racing to implement new rules that would require hobbyists to register their drones before taking to the skies.

What do you think? Will the growing number of drones cause too many headaches for aviation officials?

This week's Question: A technology called ìLi-Fiî uses light waves from ordinary LED light bulbs to deliver internet connectivity that, according to its creators, is cheaper, more secure, and 100 times faster that broadband internet. Velmini ó a tech company in Tallinn, Estonia ó is the first to test visible light communication technology in a real-world scenario, using Li-Fi-equipped LED lights. According to the International Business Times, the technology transmits data at 1 gigabit per second (Gbps); Li-Fi lab simulations recorded speeds up to 224 Gbps. Li-Fi will not entirely replace Wi-Fi entirely since light waves, unlike radio waves, cannot travel through walls. In addition, the tool does not work outdoors with direct sunlight. The company's co-founder estimates that the technology will be ready for public use within the next two to three years. What do you think? Will Li-Fi catch on?